


Fog Island

by Katical



Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Memories, Reunions, mentioned Flevance, mentioned Marineford
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:27:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28222404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katical/pseuds/Katical
Summary: On an island where thick sea mist enshrouded the land by nightfall, Law and Luffy experienced a resurgence of memories with which they had thought to have already come to terms.
Relationships: Donquixote "Corazon" Rosinante & Trafalgar D. Water Law, Monkey D. Luffy & Portgas D. Ace & Sabo, Monkey D. Luffy/Trafalgar D. Water Law, Trafalgar D. Water Law & Trafalgar family
Comments: 4
Kudos: 79





	1. Wound

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I’ve spent the past few weeks madly watching OP and I honestly didn’t expected to enjoy the story so much. I’ve come to love so many characters, I’ve cried so many times and now, having caught up with the anime and manga, I just can’t take my mind of OP related things. As a result, here I am writing my first contribution to the fandom, haha! It was a passing thought after Dressrosa and I thought to explore it. And by doing so, I’m probably just going to make myself cry. Oops, oh well XD Anyway, I hope you enjoy my first OP fic :D

How many hours had it been since Luffy was forced to fish after eating the entire ship’s supply of food again? A long sigh left the captain of the Straw Hat crew, shortly followed by a loud, hungry grumble from his stomach.

“Ahh, I’m hungryyy~!” Luffy cried as he fell back onto the grass, letting go of his fishing rod which was just barely caught by Usopp before it fell into the sea.

“Don’t just let go like that!” Usopp scolded, but Luffy wasn’t listening.

He rolled around in protest only to make his stomach cry even louder. A large pout appeared on his face as he glanced around the Sunny. His eyes landed on Law who was sitting quietly at the foot of the foremast. His hat was pulled down so Luffy couldn’t see his face and he wondered whether the other was sleeping or not.

But before he thought much about it, he heard Sanji’s voice from the other side of the ship. “Still no luck?”

“Not a single bite,” Chopper confessed from where he was fishing next to Usopp.

A sigh left the reindeer, and a sad grumble left Luffy’s stomach.

“I want food…” Luffy sulked.

“Hey, Luffy!” Nami called from the front of the ship. Luffy turned his head in her direction as she stepped into view from the upper deck. “There’s an island up ahead!”

“Food!” Luffy responded, bouncing up onto his feet before racing up the stairs to where Nami was.

She passed him a pair of binoculars and pointed up ahead and sure enough, there was a small green island. Tossing the binoculars back to Nami, Luffy raced back to the rest of the crew.

“Hey, you guys! We’re gonna stop by that island and get ourselves some food!” He announced, followed by a cheer from Usopp and Chopper.

Dropping back down onto the grass deck, Luffy padded over to Law and peered under his hat.

“Hey, Torao,” Luffy spoke, watching Law crack open one eye. “Did you hear that?”

“Yeah, I heard.” Law replied, sitting up straight.

“Oh, good!” Luffy smiled brightly before bouncing away, excited to get to an island where they could pick up some food.

Not long later, they were in range of the island. Luffy could barely contain his excitement while everyone was discussing who was to go ashore and how to get the resources that they needed.

“Hey, are you listening, Luffy?” Nami asked, but by then, Luffy had already decided what he wanted to do.

“I’m gonna go to that forest over there and catch a wild boar or something!” Luffy smiled brightly.

Before anyone could object, he planted his hands firmly on the ship’s railings and pulled himself back ready to launch himself to shore.

“Wha-?!” He heard Nami exclaim but it was already too late, Luffy had already stretched far enough back to take off. “Don’t go alone!”

“Eh?” Luffy’s foot slipped just as she said that, and he was flung off the ship.

While airborne, Luffy reached an arm back to the ship and grabbed onto the first person he could so that Nami couldn’t yell at him later for going alone. He didn’t know who he pulled along with him but whoever it was, Luffy was excited to find out.

“Woohoo!” Luffy cheered through the air before kicking his feet out in front of him as he readied to land on the beach.

The impact made him sink his feet deep into sand, but he didn’t think much about it before the person he pulled along landed behind him.

“Oof!”

Ah, Luffy recognised that voice and his heart skipped a beat.

Turning around, Luffy felt both excited and guilty at seeing Law’s face firmly planted into sand.

“A-Ah, Torao… You okay?” Luffy reached out to the other but Law didn’t need his help to pull his face from the sand.

“You…!” He didn’t look happy so Luffy could only laugh sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head.

A sigh left Law before he straightened up to brush sand off his body. Luffy made a move to do the same when he realised that he never bothered to pull his legs out of the sand from where he landed. Freeing himself, Luffy also brushed himself off.

After fixing his hat back onto his head, Law positioned his sword against his shoulder as always and turned to Luffy. “Why did you choose me?”

“Huh? I didn’t.” Luffy replied. “It was an accident, haha.”

Another sigh left Law. “You know I prefer to stay on the ship.”

“Well, you’re here now so why not just come with me this one time?” Luffy encouraged with a bright smile.

He didn’t wait for Law’s response before taking Law’s hand into his and pulling him towards the forest.

It was much denser than Luffy had first expected. With the large amount of luscious vegetation, he was confident that they would be able to catch some good food. Just the thought of it made his mouth water and stomach rumble.

Some rustling was heard a few metres away and Luffy wasted no time in jumping into the bushes in search for the sound. An animal zipped away quickly, but Luffy’s eyes were keen and hungry, and he chased after it without a second delay.

“Hey!” Law called after him but it was too late to stop Luffy.

The animal kept ducking and diving into bushes and shrubs but on occasion, Luffy was able to catch a glimpse of it and it appeared to be a baby boar. Luffy chased it closely, pouncing on it every now and then but it would always squirm out of his grasp.

He wasn’t sure how long he had been tailing it but it seemed like Luffy’s persistence exhausted the little creature and he was able to finally catch it. It struggled weakly before letting out a desperate squeal. Luffy, however, was too hungry to even feel sorry for the animal. All he could see was a wiggling piece of meat in his hands.

But before his imagination made his mouth water too much, Luffy felt the ground tremble slightly from beneath him. There was something big approaching him and out from behind the trees appeared a giant boar. Luffy had to tilt his head all the way back to see the huge animal, and the sight made him loosen his grip on the baby boar. The little creature scampered away in a hurry but Luffy was too preoccupied with what was in front of him.

His lip quivered for a moment before saliva flooded out of his mouth like a waterfall. Luffy’s eyes grew larger and rounder than usual as he stared at the delicious body of meat. The large boar seemed to have sensed the odd reaction and began to back away in fear.

Luffy wasn’t going to let it get away.

“Gomu gomu no…” Pulling his arm back, Luffy prepared to fight.

The large boar, however, turned tail and ran as quickly as it could in the opposite direction.

“Ah, hey, wait!”

Between chasing and fighting, Luffy completely lost track of time. In fact, he wasn’t even paying attention to his surroundings as he was too focused on beating the boar. A thick layer of fog rolled in while he was busy wrestling the animal, and by the time he had won the battle, Luffy was enshrouded by fog so dense that he could barely see his hands when he held them out in front of him.

In that moment, he remembered that there was someone else that should have been with him.

“Ahaha, oops…” Luffy absently scratched his cheek before reaching back to place his straw hat firmly back atop his head.

With a firm grip on the boar’s tail, Luffy began to drag the animal in a random direction and hoped that if he continued forward, he would be able to find his way back to the beach.

“Torao!” Luffy called as he walked. “Hey, Torao!”

There was no response and Luffy couldn’t help but pout a little bit.

The fog was really quite dense. Luffy had tripped over a few low branches already and it didn’t seem like he was getting anywhere near to the edge of the forest. A sigh left him as he was growing a little tired from dragging the large animal around. But the thought of it being cooked by Sanji gave Luffy enough motivation to keep moving forward.

Eventually, Luffy saw a figure of a person through the fog. It was hard to see who it was but Luffy automatically assumed it was Law.

“Torao!” Luffy called, waving an arm over his head as he hurried towards the other while dragging the boar behind him.

Even though Luffy was making an effort to catch up, the figure still appeared far away. His lips pouted childishly before mustering up more energy to drag the boar towards the person ahead of him.

This time, the back of the figure grew closer and Luffy can feel the excitement in his blood. A silly smile was growing on his face as he imagined Law’s expression when Luffy showed him the boar.

“Hey, Tora…-o? Luffy called out, only to realise that perhaps the person he had been chasing wasn’t Law. The back of the figure wasn’t as tall as Law, though their shoulders appeared wider and overall, more well built.

Curiosity drove Luffy to chase after the figure because somehow, it felt familiar. The back of that person was always someone Luffy chased after. It was the back of a person very dear to him. Someone he had been desperate to see again after that fateful day.

And as he closed the distance, the fog seemed to part for just a moment to show a large tattoo of a cross, and a face with an iconic white moustache.

Tears pooled at the realisation. Luffy could hear his blood roar in his ears as his lips trembled. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he breathed out in disbelief.

“Ace… Ace!” He raised his voice as much as he could, desperately crying for the only person Luffy knew to have such a tattoo on his back.

He couldn’t believe it. It really looked like Ace. He raced after the figure in the fog, worried that if he took his eyes off, he would disappear into the forest and Luffy wouldn’t be able to find him again. His feet tripped over something and Luffy stumbled. He caught himself before falling but he lost his grip on the tail of the boar. Fearing that he had lost sight of his brother, Luffy squinted into the fog and realised that Ace seemed to have walked further away. Panic filled Luffy as he quickly grabbed the boar’s tail and tried to catch up. But the animal was stuck on something and wouldn’t budge no matter how hard Luffy pulled.

Between the boar and Ace, it was obvious who Luffy would choose.

Abandoning the large that he caught earlier, Luffy dashed after the fading silhouette of his brother. He ran as fast as he could, stretching his hand out on occasion in hopes of making contact.

“Ace!” Luffy yelled with all his might. “Ace, it’s me! Turn around!”

But no matter how much he tried to call to the other, he was always too far ahead. Tears kept obstructing his view. His throat hurt from all the yelling. His chest felt tight from the intense running. The scars in his heart were reopening.

“Please, Ace! Wait for me!”

He begged pathetically. If it were really Ace, then he would definitely make fun of Luffy. But in that moment, Luffy would welcome it. If he could see Ace one more time, hear his voice and touch him just once time, Luffy would scream and beg and do anything.

“Ace!”

With that final call, it seemed like Luffy’s voice finally reached the other. The figure stood still and with only a few strides, Luffy crashed into the back of his brother, wrapping his arms around his waist and burying his face between the other’s shoulder blades. He could feel the warmth of the body he was embracing, and Luffy was convinced that it was Ace.

“Wha-?!” came the other’s reaction but Luffy didn’t care, he was simply glad and relieved that he finally caught up.

“I’ve finally found you!” Luffy sobbed, tears rolling down his face as he felt waves upon waves of emotion wash over him.

“Hey, let go.” The other struggled against Luffy’s hold but the young man refused.

“No, I won’t let go! I’m never letting go again!”

It felt like the past two years didn’t happen. It was as if that fateful day was truly just a bad dream and that Ace was alive all this time, just hiding on this remote island where no one knew of him. Luffy wouldn’t even be upset if the truth was hidden from him. He would simply be glad that Ace was truly alive and well. That was all he wanted.

But for some reason, the person Luffy was holding was adamant about prying him off.

Fighting against the struggle, Luffy groaned in protest, holding on even tighter.

“Don’t leave me, Ace!” Luffy cried desperately. He didn’t know why Ace wanted to fight him off so bad because surely, he would understand why Luffy didn’t want to let go.

But, apparently…

“I’m not Ace,” was what the person Luffy was clinging onto said.

“Eh…?” It was only then did Luffy recognise the voice. It really wasn’t Ace’s voice.

Frozen at the realisation that Ace wasn’t the one in front of him, Luffy loosened his hold on the other and took a rigid step back. Through the layer of tears threatening to fall, Luffy looked at the back of the person in front of him. There wasn’t a tattoo. He wasn’t the same height as Ace, nor the same build. He didn’t smell like Ace either.

“Straw Hat-ya…”

The person in front of him turned to face him.

Luffy’s blood ran cold. Not because of the person in front of him, but because the person in front of him wasn’t Ace. Reality came flooding back. He felt foolish to believe that Ace was still alive, and that the fateful day two years ago didn’t happen. He felt like crying for a whole different reason.

Lowering his head so that Luffy could avoid eye contact, he tried to laugh it off to distract himself enough to suppress his tears.

“O-Oh… it’s you, Torao.” He tried to laugh but it sounded fake and awkward even to his ears. Embarrassment pooled at the bottom of his empty stomach while tears were on the verge of falling. In an attempt to hide his face, Luffy pulled his straw hat down. “S-Sorry about that,” he apologised before swiftly turned his back on Law to wipe his face.

He didn’t know what to do. His feelings were in a muddle. His lips wouldn’t stop trembling. It felt like he couldn’t breathe. Tears were prickling his eyes and it took all of Luffy’s self-control not to break down in that very moment.

But the moment firm arms wrapped themselves around Luffy’s waist, he felt his resolve crumble. The action made Luffy stiffen at first but he quickly eased into the warmth against his back.

“It’s alright to cry.” Law said in a gentle voice.

It pulled at his heartstrings. He remembered those exact words were said to him when he woke up in the other’s submarine. More memories flooded back from two years ago. And as if the dam that had been holding the pressure of emotions back finally broke, Luffy’s tears streamed down as strongly as they did after that fateful day.

Memories of Ace resurfaced one after another. It felt like he was reliving the turmoil that he felt in the past. His throat burned from calling Ace’s name. Tears wouldn’t stop flowing from his eyes. Nothing that he grabbed eased the emotional pain coursing through his body. It was happening again. The helplessness ate away at his being. He was once again reminded that he wasn’t strong enough. Even though he tried his best that day, he couldn’t save his brother. Luffy didn’t save him. And as a result, Ace wasn’t coming back.

Once the rush of emotions subsided, exhaustion quickly took over. Luffy slumped against the nearest surface and closed his eyes. Everything was muffled and blurry in his mind but one thing was for sure, the arms that were wrapped around him never once let go.


	2. Scar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We had Luffy’s POV last chapter, this time it’s Law’s side :D Enjoy~

Even though it wasn’t the first time Luffy had screamed and cried himself to the point of passing out, it was still no less painful for Law to watch. He could vaguely imagine what had gone through the other’s mind while he mistook Law for Ace, but he could never know for certain just what Luffy had witnessed at the war. Two years wasn’t exactly that long ago, after all.

Picking up Luffy in his arms, Law made his way to lean him up against a tree. Squatting down in front of him, Law gently brushed aside a few loose strands of hair, before thumbing over the remaining tears that rolled down his cheeks. His usually cheerful eyes were red and swollen, and it only reminded Law of the many break downs Luffy had on his submarine after leaving Marineford.

With a sigh, Law picked up his sword and made himself comfortable next to Luffy. The fog was even denser than before and Law deemed it too reckless to blindly walk around a foreign forest. He suspected that it would clear by morning so he planned to wait until then. Plus, Law could guess that Luffy probably didn’t want his crew members to see him like this.

After an unknown amount of time, Law felt himself doze off at the oddly comforting atmosphere the forest provided. He tried to clear his head with a light shake, reminding himself that he needed to keep watch for his and Luffy’s safety. The movement seemed to have bumped Luffy a little, causing him to drop his head onto Law’s shoulder. Briefly worried that he had woken Luffy, Law peered at the other and was relieved to see that he was still sleeping soundly. Of course, he was. A soft smile stretched across his lips before lightly leaning his own head against Luffy’s.

Blinking his eyes open, it felt like Law had just woken up despite his best efforts to fight off the tiredness. His surroundings were enshrouded by thick fog so he believed that he was still in the forest. However, when he registered that he was on his feet, his sword not in his hand, and Luffy not by his side, alertness instantly replaced his previous half wakefulness.

Through the fog, he could hear footsteps approaching him. He prepared himself for a fight when he heard the voice of a young girl.

“Onii-sama!”

Law deduced that it was only one person running towards him. The sounds of light rapid footsteps made him assume that it was the young girl he had just heard. Perhaps it was a lost child calling out for her brother like how Luffy was calling out for Ace.

Then, like how Luffy crashed into him earlier, a young girl suddenly appeared from the fog and ran into Law’s leg. She was so small, not even reaching the height of his hip.

“Onii-sama!” She said as she grabbed onto Law.

It felt like déjà-vu. Law breathed out, prepared to tell the little girl that he wasn’t her brother.

Reaching a hand out, Law placed it on top of her head. Her soft, caramel hair, tied in low pigtails, reminded him of his past and a sad smile pulled at his lips.

“Hey,” Law spoke softly. “I’m not your…”

But he trailed off when the little girl looked up at him.

When their eyes met, Law had several thoughts race through his mind. One was that he had somehow died and reached the afterlife. Two was that it was a dream. Three was that he was caught in an enemy’s ability which abused the victim’s memories like with what happened to Luffy. Whichever case it was, Law couldn’t bring himself to be happy at seeing his sister.

“Onii-sama?” Lami looked up at Law, young innocence reflected in her eyes.

Over the years, his family had shown up in his dreams occasionally, but every time, Law would wake himself up. Having long been forced to accept the reality of what happened in Flevance, Law didn’t want a reminder in case it hindered his resolve.

Turning his head away from the little girl, Law pinched his eyes shut and willed himself to wake up. If it were a dream, he didn’t want it to continue. But if it were the ability of an enemy, he would show no mercy in eliminating them, making them pay for playing such a sick joke.

“Onii-sama? You’re Law onii-sama, right?”

But no matter how hard he tried, Law couldn’t escape. The little girl was still holding onto him, albeit a little loosely now that she seemed to have doubts about who Law was.

“I’m Lami,” she said, releasing Law before pointing to herself. “Don’t you remember me?” Her eyes glistened with unshed tears for a moment.

Of course, Law remembered. How could he not? But no matter how much he hoped that she was real, he knew full well that she wasn’t. Lami was dead. So were their parents. Sister and all of his classmates too. They were all dead. Law had long accepted this. But for some reason, it was difficult to convince himself to think that way this time.

“Law.” Another voice called out to him from beyond the fog. Law’s blood went cold, quickly followed by his stomach sinking when he saw two figures slowly walk into view.

“Law, why are you ignoring Lami?” A woman asked with a light chuckle. “She’s missed you.”

Seeing the two people come into view, Law could already feel his resolve crumbling. The chains he had wrapped around those memories began to come undone and he started to hope for the impossible, that they were truly alive and in front of him in that moment.

“Mother... Father…” Law breathed out, his lips trembling as he uttered those words.

“Lami too!” The little girl pulled at Law’s trousers with a pout.

And before he could stop himself, Law dropped to his knees and embraced the little girl.

“Lami…” He hugged her tightly. Tears were threatening to fall but he held them in. He didn’t want to show his weak side to his parents or his sister after so long. A quiet voice at the back of Law’s mind scolded him for even thinking that they were real but Law wanted to believe. At least, just for a moment, just this once, he wanted to believe that they were real.

His sister giggled cutely in his arms, hugging back and snuggling into his shoulder. “Onii-sama’s so big now.”

A soft chuckle could be heard from above them, and Law looked up to see his parents smiling down on him. A hand reached out to carefully remove his hat before his mother squatted down. She placed her palms against Law’s cheeks so that she could get a better look at her son.

“You’ve really taken after your father,” she smiled proudly. “You’re so handsome now.”

Her expression and her words pulled at Law’s heartstrings. He felt another wave of tears ready to fall but once again, he held them back. He couldn’t hide the tremble in his lips though.

Breathing in to quickly compose himself, he released his little sister before standing to his full height. His eyes met his father’s and it was his turn to smile proudly at his son.

“You’ve grown so much.”

Law didn’t know how to reply, but thankfully, it didn’t seem like he needed to.

His mother stood up as well and opened her arms to hug Law. His father joined in as well. And for the first time in years, Law felt the warm embrace of his parents.

“Mother… Father…” Law muttered into their shoulders, desperately trying to calm the raging sea of emotions inside his heart.

“I’m glad you survived, Law.” His father said. “We couldn’t be more proud.”

“We’ll always be watching over you so just keep going and live your life to the fullest,” his mother added. “Okay?”

Law couldn’t even form a response. He could only nod into their shoulders while pursing his lips together. Tears were pooling in his eyes but he was determined not to let a single drop fall. His thoughts were a mess, the words of his parents weighed heavily yet they were also liberating.

Slowly but surely, Law felt the firmness of the embrace fade. The arms wrapped around him loosened, and his own arms felt like they were losing contact with the people he was holding. His eyes were still pinched shut, knowing that their exchange was reaching an end. He should have known that they weren’t real. Still, he wanted to burn the proud smiles of his parents, and the bright smile of his sister into his mind, remembering this moment even if it were fabricated by his own subconscious or something else.

Eventually, the presence of his family disappeared completely, and Law was left holding nothing. Blinking open his eyes, to seeing his own hands in front of him, he cursed himself for believing in the impossible. He knew that seeing them would only be more painful yet at the same time, he was glad that he didn’t run away this time. His lips trembled and he went to grip the fabric of his shirt, silently begging for the tightness in his chest to subside already.

But just when he thought he had gained control over his emotions again, another voice called out.

“Law.”

All composure he regained slipped through his fingers. The voice of a man who Law yearned to hear again, more so than his own parents and sister, called for him. If he were the least bit rational then he would have deemed it impossible. But when he had just experienced the impossibility of meeting his family again, surely meeting one more person was just as likely.

Whipping around to where the voice came from, Law felt all the effort he made to keep his emotions in check fall apart. The tears he had been holding back since the moment his family appeared before him came flooding out. There was no determination to put on a brave face anymore.

Standing a short distance away was a tall man, dressed in the same outfit and black feathered coat as Law remembered him. He held his arms out, smiling welcomingly, and Law wasted no time in running towards him.

Stumbling over his own feet, he sprinted as fast as he could to the person to whom he owed his life.

“C-Cora-san…!”

Diving into the arms of the man who gave him hope after losing everything, Law couldn’t stop the onslaught of emotions that poured out of his being. He didn’t remember the last time he cried, but he was certainly crying as hard, if not harder, as the day he lost Corazon.

“Law, you’ve grown so much.” Corazon muttered into Law’s hair.

Even after becoming an adult, Corazon was still twice the size of Law. Being embraced by him was like he was being enveloped, an entirely different feeling to the hug he shared with his parents only moments ago. The warmth and scent of Corazon brought waves upon waves of ancient memories that he had locked up deep within his heart since that fateful day. He couldn’t stop crying.

A light chuckle left Corazon as he continued to stroke Law’s head. He felt like he was being treated like a child but given how he was bawling his eyes out, he probably looked no different from one.

When his sobbing subsided a little, Corazon pulled a handkerchief out from his pocket and held it to Law’s nose. He blew into it and Corazon laughed at the action.

“I don’t remember you being such a snotty boy,” he chuckled.

“Cora-san…” Law whined childishly, tugging at the front of Corazon’s shirt.

“I don’t remember you being so clingy either,” he pointed out with a smirk.

Law could only weakly glare at Corazon but when his eyes were teary, red and swollen, it probably didn’t look the least bit threatening.

“And here I thought you had grown up big and strong,” Corazon said with a gentle smile, lightly brushing away some of Law’s tears.

Law couldn’t think of anything to say, his mind felt like it had been stuffed with cotton. His eyes were heavy from crying and he felt as if he could barely keep himself conscious.

“Law,” Corazon spoke up. “I’m happy to see that you survived the disease, and that you’re alive and well.”

“I wouldn’t be had you not saved me,” Law replied, too emotionally exhausted to even feel embarrassed by his words. “It’s all thanks to you.”

“Law…” Corazon held him a little tighter.

“I’m really…” The words got caught in this throat. He could feel himself tear up again. But he wanted to say it. He wanted to express the words he never got to say, words that were locked up tightly together with his memories of Corazon. “I’m really grateful for what you did.” Law forced the words out, eyes watering already. “For giving me life.”

“Law, stop this.” Corazon said, pulling Law into his chest.

“But…” Law tried to argue but he could barely breathe. His throat was closing in on itself as he fought back the flood of emotions that had only just calmed down.

“Listen to me.” Corazon spoke softly, placing a hand on Law’s cheek to get his attention. “Don’t feel like you need to owe me anything. Just by continuing to live is enough to make me proud of you.”

Reaching a hand to take Corazon’s into his own, Law silently listened as tears rolled from his eyes.

“You’ve grown up so much. You’ve got good friends by your side. You’ve got people to rely on. You’ve experienced so many more happy moments than you had in the past. So, keep going. You’re free now, remember?”

Law responded with a small nod. He had a feeling that Corazon was going to disappear soon but he knew better than to cling on. Corazon wanted him to keep moving forward so if he asked Corazon to stay, it would only be counter-productive. 

“Cora-san?” Law wrapped his arms around Corazon for what he believed to be the last time.

“Hmm?” Corazon hummed a question, returning the hug.

“I love you.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Law heard the slightest hitch in Corazon’s breath. It made his heart flutter before Corazon pulled him closer into his chest.

“I love you too, Law.” Corazon replied, his voice filled with many emotions that Law simply accepted.

Pulling away from the hug, Law could see unshed tears shining in Corazon’s eyes. His slightly quivering lips were pursed thinly but he still forced himself to smile. Law was reminded of the last memory he had of Corazon, and so, despite the emotions raging on inside his heart and the dangerous wave of tears he wanted to shed, Law also did his best to smile.

Corazon leant forward towards Law, and his eyes naturally fell shut as the distance between them closed. A gentle yet firm kiss was planted to Law’s forehead and in that moment, Law knew that their meeting was coming to an end.

The sound of leaves rustling and bird twittering stirred Law from his sleep. He blinked his eyes open to a familiar luscious forest. The fog from the previous night had completely disappeared, replaced by streaks of morning light filtering in from the leaves overhead. Law registered that he had his sword in one hand while the other was held in the palm of the person beside him. Glancing to the side, Law felt a smile pull on his face when he saw Luffy still soundly asleep.

Stifling a yawn, Law went to rub his eyes of sleep when he noticed the lines of dried tears down his face. He scrubbed them away before looking at his hand. He couldn’t help but smile sadly down as he remembered the dream he had.

Standing up and giving his limbs a stretch, Law was quickly able to get over the scarily realistic dream of the previous night. It had been over a decade since those events took place so for Law, what felt like unbearable grief at the time had long been accepted and kept as memories of the past. The wounds in his heart had fully healed over although the scars still remained.

That was different from Luffy, he thought as his eyes trailed over to said young man. Luffy’s experience of losing his brother was only two years ago. He may think that he had come to terms with the event but it was obvious that the wound was still fresh. Recovering from grief was no easy feat, and like many other hardships, time is essential in order to recover.

Crouching down to pull Luffy onto his back while using his sword to support him from below, Law began to make his way out of the forest. Every now and then, Luffy muttered in his sleep, occasionally saying Ace’s name but a few other times, the other name that he said was “Torao”. Law found himself smiling softly once again.

When Law finally made it out of the forest after struggling past narrow gaps between trees because his sword was too long, half of the Straw Hat crew were calling for them on the beach.

“Torao! Luffy!” Chopper scampered up to them, looking relieved to see them. “Is Luffy okay?”

“Just sleeping,” Law replied, adjusting Luffy on his back.

“Were you two in the forest all night?” Nami asked worriedly.

“Yeah,” Law replied, choosing not to provide any more information.

Nami looked concerned. “Did… Did anything happen?”

“Not really,” Law shrugged lightly.

“Okay, good.” Nami breathed a sigh of relief. “I heard from the locals that the forest played tricks on people at night. It starts off as a thick fog and then you start seeing things.”

“That’s too scary!” Chopper exclaimed.

Law stayed silent.

“Well, I’m glad the two of you are safe.” Nami said. “We’ve managed to get a decent amount of food so let’s go back. You must be hungry.”

“Food~” Luffy muttered from Law’s shoulder, earning a few laughs and chuckles from his crew members.

A small smile made it onto Law’s face before he followed the rest of the Straw Hats back to their ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, I’ve successfully made myself cry. I don’t know why I do this to myself, haha. But y’know, I wanted Law’s family and Cora-san to see Law all grown up and be super proud of him because the poor boy had to go through way too much as a kid – bless him. I just want him to be happy ;_; Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this. I want to write some more fics for One Piece so maybe you’ll see me again :D Oh, and have a Merry Christmas ;P

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


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